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I was shocked to see that Trek decided to get rid of it's Pilot series for 2011. I always thought they were nice bikes designed for a more relaxed ride. I thought they'd be a perfect fit for the Clyde class. Did I miss something here? Is Trek willing to give up customers to Specialized with it's Sectuer/Roubaix line? My old 2000 is a bit long in tooth and I'd like to stay loyal to Trek but I don"t know what to get now? Portland?

It's my understanding that while the specific Pilot model has been dropped, the frame geometry has not. Apparently they're now designating the degree of "aggressive vs comfort" aspect of the their frame geometries with some sort of letter designation in the technical specs for the frames. Unfortunately I have yet to be able to remember those letter designations. I think if you ask a dealer, they'll tell you it's mostly based on head tube angle and length.

H1 = most agressive (formerly pro fit, I think), H3 = least agressive. That leaves the H2 somewhere in between. When you look at the geometry of a particular model it will tell you which style it equates to (their big buyers guide has them grouped by fit styles). Some models, like the higher end Madones, can be had it multiple fits.

Important to note that you only get to pick between H1, H2, and H3 when you buy a madone.

The 1 and 2 series are H2 geometry.

The H3 aluminum bike is the Lexa. Yes, it's for women only.

Personally I bought a 1.5 a month ago after test riding several relaxed-geometry road bikes, and found that it was as good a value and I could get the same riding position just by changing to a stem with more rise. It may not have the curved seat stays or whatever that a typical plush bike has but honestly I couldn't tell a difference between it and the secteur. And if I ever want to start doing more aggressive riding I can just swap the stem out.

Thanks for the replies. I am just amazed that they would want to make this more complicated than it has to be. My eyes already glazed over from those responses and I think it would be easier to just consider The Specialized or Cannondale models that are already marked as being a more comfort oriented ride. Maybe a hard core racer would be interested in analyzing frame styles, etc. etc. But the casual rider whowants a comfy ride would rather just pick a bike than swap/adjust stems and what have you. To me it seems like a cost savings move on Trek's part that I think some bean counter came up with, instead of a guy who wants to get more riders out there.

Thanks for the replies. I am just amazed that they would want to make this more complicated than it has to be. My eyes already glazed over from those responses and I think it would be easier to just consider The Specialized or Cannondale models that are already marked as being a more comfort oriented ride. Maybe a hard core racer would be interested in analyzing frame styles, etc. etc. But the casual rider whowants a comfy ride would rather just pick a bike than swap/adjust stems and what have you. To me it seems like a cost savings move on Trek's part that I think some bean counter came up with, instead of a guy who wants to get more riders out there.

If you think a company has made their product too complicated, then vote with your wallet. Being able to buy a relaxed geometry several models instead of just one, does have it's benefits though.

Yes that's correct. H3 is a new option for 2011 for the 2.1 and I',m guessing the 2.3 and 1 series too

It's good for the end user that they're offering that degree of choice, but it seems like a nightmare for the shop owners trying to decide on what they want to stock for the sales floor. It's going to be like US autos, with the dealers having to pick and choose among bunches of options and option packages and predicting which ones will be the most popular with their potential customers.

Hate to bump this but in searching through the forums I was curious to see what the Pilot bike was all about. I'm just getting into road biking (mountain biking is kind of my sweet spot) and I thought the idea between H1/2/3 was a great idea, but that got me wondering if Trek had an answer to those alternatives before. Some companies have pro/performance fit. Is that what the Pilot was? Was the Pilot the performance fit of Trek? Because now you can choose different H1/H2/H3 alternatives through certain model bikes (2.1, 5 series, 6 series) if you want a bike in that series with a relaxed fit.

What series did the Pilot come in? Was the H1/H2/H3 alternative a direct replacement to the Pilot series bikes?

Just about every bike manufacturer has their own name for the less-aggressive geometry road bikes they make. In the old days it was basically racing or touring. Now it's racing, pro, performance, endurance, plush, relaxed and touring (and probably others I've missed). Whether Trek used the specific term "performance" to indicate a slightly less aggressive geometry than their full-on racing bikes, I don't know, but your basic premise is right - the Pilot was the less extreme, (presumably) more comfy road bike in the line.

And yes, at least as it was explained to me, the H3 geometry models are the replacements for the Pilots.